Today I’m going to be talking to another small scale farming making a go of it as we go to Sebastopol, CA to talk to Caiti Hachmyer of Red H Farm.

Caiti’s a farmer who started out her farming career on the advocacy side of things. She was living the Bay Area advocating for farmers and looking to play her part in changing the food system. But after a while she felt something was missing, and she felt like she needed to get on the ground and see what life was really like for some of the farmers that she was advocating for. So she picked up her California roots and moved to Minnesota to spend some time working on a production farm.

It was step that would change her life forever. Giving her perspective of the on the ground side of things which helped her on the policy side, and one that would give her a nice experience to have in her back pocket.

One that she would need to draw on when she moved back to California and needed work.

Caiti’s gone on to continue her work on the ground and policy side of things.

It’s the dual nature of her work that we focus on today, Farming For A Change with Advocate Farmer Caiti Hachmyer of Red H Farm.

Our Farm School supports you to cultivate the skills and relationships you need to begin and sustain a successful farm enterprise. Created for the urban, suburban and rural farmer, Farm School is committed to helping farmers and farm-families establish productive thriving businesses in their region’s food economy; we grow farms that feed their local communities while regenerating their local ecosystems. Farm School’s curriculum addresses some of the biggest barriers to entering a career in farming – knowledge, access to land, markets, capital and the on-going support of a mentor and learning community.

Program Overview:

Farm School begins with a 14-week intensive training, followed by an integrated 6-month mentorship. You will learn how to design, build and support a holistic, regenerative farm business that will increase the life-supporting capacity of the land and your revenue. Our curriculum covers water systems, soil science, crop planning, agroforestry, energy systems and harvesting techniques. Each week incorporates a full day of business planning and coaching, evening lectures from successful farmers in the region, and detailed farm tours. Following the intensive, you will be paired with a supportive mentor, and the next 6 months will be a time of learning-by-doing to build upon your farm enterprise plan.

This dynamic program is one-of-a-kind. At Farm School you will learn and receive support from the region’s leading-edge food producers and entrepreneurs to formulate a business plan that can be embedded strategically into your particular regional food economy. Farm School is an active step towards becoming a leader in ecological stewardship while developing a deep understanding of land systems, agricultural policy and pathways for social influence.